As diligent as I was to make my 10 recipes once a week, I have been putting off the round up. For one I was away on vacation (posts coming soon!) and then I was sick. But I think part of me did not want the experiment to end. No I donāt mean I would like to eat liver every week from now on but it did become a routine, one I was not ready to let go off. Sounds weird but it feels a bit like a mourning.
Perhaps I should do the same thing again with another food nemesis? Well Iāll think about it for a while but for now letās stick to The Liver Experiment Round-up, and see what I have learned, taken away and if liver is now my friend.
In case you have not been following this series, let me tell you how this all began. It all started with a book I was reading called The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue magazineās food critic and writer. The first chapter describes how he sat down and made a list of all the food he hated when he got the job at Vogueas food columnist. This prompted a little research on how to conquer foods we hate. So the theory is a child will probably eventually like a food he/she hates after serving it 8 to 10 times. This could explain why so many children are fussy as the parents give up after 2 or 3 tries. Hmm!
Steingarten did this experiment with his list and he got over his dislike of most of the food he hated. I was to tempted to try this with liver. I was certainly forced to eat liver more than 10 times in my youth but maybe 2-3 times a year. The point of this experiment is not to like liver, I just want to test out this theory. There will be no winners or losers, no passing grade. Just playing food psychology.
The 10 weeks have passed and I will now answer all of your burning questions! Is liver still my food nemesis? The answer is no. Now I am not saying I am completely sold on liver but I have prepared if several ways and have tried different livers enough to know which way I like it best and which way I hate it. Out of my 10 dishes I would say 6 I liked, 2 were OK and 2 where awful.
The Good:
- Stuffed Baby Eggplants in a Dirty Rice Pilaf
- Indian Liver Curry
- Liver on Polenta with a Ginger-Onion Confit (the BEST)
- Liver & Bacon Saute with Potatoes & Parsley
- Stuffed Vine Leaves with Liver and Apple
- Spiced Chicken Liver Tacos with Mole Sauce
The OK
- Chicken Liver Pate and Absinthe
- Lamb Liver Raspberries and Hazelnut Salad (the salad without liver is amazing)
The Ugly
There is a reason why the 2 Ugly recipes were so bad: they are the only recipes in which I used beef liver. I can confirm that never in this lifetime will I like, or hopefully ever eat, beef liver again. The taste is so strong and intense, it makes me want to hurl. Both batches were given away and did get high praises from beef liver fans, so the recipes are good if it you kind of thing.
My favorite livers, in order, are: lamb, veal and chicken. I know I like liver that is cut in thin strips, floured and then fried in a lot of oil best. But remember liver should always remain a bit pink on the inside. I can see myself preparing such dishes once in a while. I do not fear liver anymoreā¦as long as I prepare it lol. I can affirm that the theory of trying a food 8 to 10 times on regular basis will help you appreciate the ingredient more. And you know what? It has been 1 month now since I ate liver and I have a little bit of a craving for it!
And here are my 10 liver dishes, prepared over a 10 week period, listed in no particular orderā¦
Week 8: Stuffed Baby Eggplants in a Dirty Rice Pilaf
Week 3: Austrian Liver Dumplings (Leberknƶdel)
Week 4: Indian Liver Curry
Week 7: Lamb Liver Raspberries and Hazelnut Salad
Week 9: Beef and Liver Chili
Week 10: Liver on Polenta with a Ginger-Onion Confit
Week 2: Liver & Bacon Saute with Potatoes & Parsley
Week 1: Chicken Liver Pate and Absinthe
Week 5: Stuffed Vine Leaves with Liver and Apple
Week 6: Spiced Chicken Liver Tacos with Mole Sauce
Time to go enter my Homemade Condiments cookbook giveaway! Ā You have till April 13, 2014, 23h59 EDT to enter. GOOD LUCK!
Hooray! You make food blogging really fun, and have inspired many of us with your challenges/experiments! Liver was a fun and interesting one as a lot of people are hesitant (but curious) to try. š I wonder what will be your next challenge. š
Thanks you Nami, glad it was fun and inspiring!
Iāll say it again, Evelyne, you is one brave woman. Like you, I donāt think I could ever like beef liver but have had an amuse bouche with fois gras that I didnāt mind, so maybe I could be swayed with other livers like you. Good for you for tackling this and trying a cool experiment!
Thank you my dear Diva Cucina š
Congratulations Evelyn on successfully completing this experiment!!! You certainly have my admiration because I know it is something that would never have tried in a million years. š However, I must say that your chicken liver tacos with mole really caught my attention and is on my list to try. Hope youāre feeling better!!
Thank you Mj it was quite a journey I appreciate your words. Hope you try those tacos.
Lovely round up! All the dishes look outstanding!
Thank you Asmita š
Great round up and good for you for trying all these liver dishes! I just made (and posted) chicken liver pate recently as Iāve been trying to eat more offals. I definitely need to try dirty rice!
Thank Amy, will check out your post!
Thanks for compiling the liver recipes. I wish I could try the polenta one but its not available in India. May be sometime in futureā¦!
I would be happy to send you some, just let me know š Thank you so much for contributing your Curry Liver recipe!
I sure enjoyed all the liver postā¦thank you so much for the nice āexperimentāā¦absolutely priceless.
Thank you Evelyneā¦have a wonderful week š
Thank you Juliana an already converted liver lover š
Evelyne, you turned liver into such a gourmet ingredient. All of your recipes in the experiment look delicious ā Iād try them all.
Thank you Nancy for your great words and encouragement. Hope to see your results!
Wow! You did it. 10 weeks of cooking and eating with an ingredient. The recipes have so much variety and spanning various cuisines of the world. You did an awesome job Evelyne. My favourite was the Liver on Polenta and the Tacos!
Thanks SugaretAl for you comment and noticing the world variety. Those are my 2 favorites to š
OP, no, no, no..not liver!! If thereās one food I.just.canāt. itās liver. Unless itās called foie gras, that is. But, I grew up eating chopped chicken liver and loving it, until I found out it was made of actual chicken livers lol. Never touched it again, but it goes to show you what the mind can do. You have proven that liver can look delicious. Now itās just a matter of trying one of your recipes and not thinking āliverā š BTW, how are things with the guy?
Well Lisa thanks for saying I at least make liver attractive lol. And go for it, try a recipe. Wow, Iāll email youā¦that guy has been out of the pic for like 17 months!
Your an inspiration for giving a difficult ingredient such a try, Iām even intrigued to try it.
Gintare go for it, try a recipe š
I am not fan of liver but if I had to choose I would say the vine leaves!
Ha Katerina I would have guessed that, thanks!
I love all your exquisite preparations of this often forgotten about ingredient. Lovely round up!!
Thank you and glad you enjoyed the recipesā¦and the ingredient!
You are much braver than me. I liked the chopped liver I made recently and I donāt mind pate, all of which are chicken liver dishes. Iāll definitely stay away from the beef livers.
Thanks and yeah beef liver = bad š
I donāt think I would have ever come up with so many liver recipes! You did an incredible job completing this challenge.
Thank you so much Liz!
Menā¦you did it! A great round up, Evelyne! š ela
Thanks Ela š
Gāday! I really take my hat off to you Evelyne as you came up with VERY creative recipes and great photos!
HOW you did not get ālivered outā is beyond meā¦Well done and enjoyed reading each and every post! What a unique experiment!
Cheers! Joanne
Yep not completely livered out lol Joanne, thanks for all the comments along the way.
Evelyne, you are such an awesome cookā¦all these dainties with liverā¦especially stuffed eggplants look gorgeous,thanks so much for the inspirationā¦Have A Great Day!!! š
Thank you for the great compliments
Youāve done so well and yes I guess beef liver is for those that really like the liver taste. I like liver but not that much of a livery taste! š
Thanks Lorraine for your comment and encouragement
Now I know where to look for the delicious liver recipes! Thanks for the roundup, Evelyne.
Thanks Angie and gad you like them.